Building collapses in Bangladesh – Members of the Bangladesh army pray at the site of the collapsed Rana Plaza in Savar near Dhaka on Tuesday, May 14. The army-led effort to search for bodies has ended nearly three weeks after the nine-story building collapsed. The final death toll stands at 1,127.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives of missing garment workers offer prayers in front of the rubble on May 14 in Savar.

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Photos: Building collapses in Bangladesh – A white board at the recovery command center near the disaster is used to track the death toll on Monday, May 13.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Heavy equipment sifts through the rubble of the garment factory building collapse on Sunday, May 12.

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Photos: Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman cries holds a portrait of a missing relative believed to be trapped in the rubble of the Rana Plaza building on Saturday, May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi garment worker Reshma Begum, a seamstress who survived 16 days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building, rests in Savar Cantonment Hospital on the outskirts of Dhaka on May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives search through a long line of covered decomposing bodies to try to identify their family members on May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers retrieve Reshma from the rubble in Savar, Bangladesh, on Friday, May 10. She got rescue workers' attention by waving an iron rod. She was found in a pool of water, which allowed her to stay alive.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured worker who survived the building collapse is carried by her husband to collect her wages in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, May 8.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Garment workers who survived the building collapse line up to collect their salaries in Savar on May 8.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Workers continue rescue and recovery operations on Tuesday, May 7, nearly two weeks after the Rana Plaza building's collapse outside Dhaka.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives place a body in the back of a truck on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman attempts to identify one of the bodies kept in a schoolyard on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Members of the Bangladeshi army and firefighters carry the body of a garment worker from the scene of the building collapse in Savar, outside Dhaka, on Sunday, May 5.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman holds a portrait of her missing relative as she sleeps on Saturday, May 4.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives attempt to identify the bodies of loved ones on May 4.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers dig out debris from the Rana Plaza building as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation using heavy equipment on Friday, May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman reacts on May 3 after identifying a body found in the rubble.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A man stands amid the destruction as rescue and army personnel continue recovery operations on May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman holds up a picture of a missing person believed to be trapped in the rubble on May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A garment worker rescued from the wreckage of the Rana Plaza building lies in a hospital in Dhaka on Thursday, May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman weeps after identifying her daughter's body in the rubble in Savar on May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers move debris as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Savar on May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman mourns before a mass burial in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Unidentified bodies from the rubble lie on the ground as people gather for a mass burial in Dhaka on May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Workers dig graves during a mass burial of unidentified garment workers on May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, wears police-issued body armor and a helmet while being escorted to court in Dhaka on Tuesday, April 30. Rana was arrested near the Indian border, and protesters called for him to be hanged.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi troops carry the body of a garment worker out of the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on April 30.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Clothing with Joe Fresh labels lies in the debris on April 30.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Cranes operated by Bangladeshi army personnel work on Monday, April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Firefighters try to control a blaze that started while they were trying to rescue a woman with heavy equipment on April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi army personnel begin the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment on April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers look for survivors on Sunday, April 28. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society says the chances of finding anyone alive in the rubble at this date are remote.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman mourns on April 28 at the site of the building collapse in Savar.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search for survivors on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers sleep before they begin more rescue operations on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers carry a victim's body recovered from the rubble on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Clothes lie in the rubble on Saturday, April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An arrested owner of a garment factory is escorted to an appearance at the court in Dhaka on April 27. Four people were arrested and four others are being questioned by police.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives hold photos of missing and dead workers outside the factory April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Two Bangladeshi women look at a board with notices posted of missing and dead workers on April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi relatives and workers load a body onto a truck on April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An excavator operated by the Bangladeshi Army removes debris on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers conduct rescue operations on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers use textile as a slide to move bodies out of the rubble on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers look for trapped garment workers on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers stand on the rubble of the collapsed building on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search the rubble for victims and survivors on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A rescue worker looks for trapped workers on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi army personnel recover a survivor from rubble on April 26, 48 hours after the collapse.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A physician assists a survivor after he was recovered from the rubble on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Two bodies clutch each other in the rubble on Thursday, April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People rescue garment workers on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A Bangladeshi woman shows a picture of her missing daughter-in-law she believes is trapped in the collapsed building on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi firefighters cut a hole through concrete during rescue operations on April 25 in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers work at the scene on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman appears devastated on April 25 after identifying the body of her husband killed in the building collapse.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi garment workers help evacuate a survivor by using a roll of fabric on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People rescue garment workers on Wednesday, April 24, after the building caved in, leaving a chaotic mass of broken concrete and twisted metal.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives who lost a brother mourn outside a hospital on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured garment worker to escape from the Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of Dhaka on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Civilians help an injured garment worker on April 24. Work was proceeding slowly to avoid causing further collapse, an official said.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search for trapped garment workers in the Rana Plaza building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured Bangladeshi lies on the hospital floor on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – The injured receive treatment at a hospital on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured person rests in a hospital bed on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People wait anxiously on April 24 while rescuers search for survivors.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured person out of the seventh floor on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Civilians help out in rescue efforts at the collapsed building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Hundreds watch the rescue operations on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People search for garment workers trapped under the debris on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured worker on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A body is trapped under the damaged building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman is carried away from the building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A rescue worker carries a worker to an ambulance on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Crowds gather around the collapsed building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers bring out an injured garment worker from the building's sixth floor.

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Story highlights

Rescue efforts will go on until we "rescue the last of the survivors alive," official says

Four people are arrested and four others are being questioned by police

Bangladeshi authorities arrested four people, including two factory owners, after at least 340 people died in a building collapse near the capital this week. Many others were trapped under concrete rubble; nearly 600 remain missing.

The owner of the building itself remains at large. Sohel Rana, has gone into hiding, said police, who are questioning four of his relatives, including his wife, in a bid to find him.

Police identified the arrested garment factory owners as Mahmudur Rahman Tapash and Bazlul Samad Adnan. Two government engineers also were arrested, police said.

Night fell in the capital Saturday, and rescue efforts continued for the fourth day -- beyond the 72-hour deadline since the collapse when authorities had said they'd switch from rescue to recovery mode, a decision that solicited vehement protests from those saying it was premature.

Even after that milestone had passed, supplies of fresh oxygen, food and water helped keep alive some who had been located but who were still trapped, the state-run BSS news agency reported.

"We will proceed with our campaign to rescue the last of the survivors alive," said Maj. Gen. Hassan Sarwardy, who is leading the effort.

Authorities have said they will decide on Sunday morning whether to shift the operation from a rescue mission to a recovery mission.

Crowds of relatives of the workers who were in the building pleaded for the intensification of rescue efforts that they say have slowed as the days have passed.

"There were hundreds of workers, now we're not getting them back, alive or dead," one woman said. "Please let us get to them, either dead or alive."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday had ordered police to arrest the owners of the building and the garment factories in it so that they can "face legal actions," her spokesman said.

"It is not an accident, it is a killing incident," Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu told reporters. "All, including owners and administrative officials concerned, must be put on the dock for the killing of people."

Most of the victims appear to have been garment factory workers.

Amid the arrests, the death toll mounted as families of the missing hoped for a miracle.

Rescuers pulled out a woman who had given birth in the mangled mess of the crumbled eight-story building, the state-run news agency Sangbad Sangstha reported. It was unclear Saturday how the mother and the baby were doing a day after they were rescued.

But most reports coming from the fallen structure near the capital, Dhaka, were of woe.

Officials originally planned to end the rescue efforts Saturday morning and bring in heavy equipment to retrieve the remaining bodies, but pushed that decision back for another day.

At a nearby medical college hospital, "thousands of survivors have been treated," said Sajjad Hussein, a spokesman for an anti-corruption agency.

"The crisis for blood is acute and the hospital authority is urging people to donate blood for the victims. There is also a shortage of medicine. The local military hospital is also treating patients."

Looking for loved ones

The picture of despair was clear Friday at a nearby local school, where bodies were being kept. Hundreds amassed, many of them relatives desperately searching for loved ones.

"People with photos of their relatives, mostly workers of the apparel factories, are asking the officials there for help. Whenever an ambulance is arriving at the spot, everyone is rushing towards (it) hoping to find at least the body of their near and dear ones," Hussein said.

In all, more than 2,400 people had been rescued, police said.

But it may take some time until the full extent of the destruction will be known.

The collapse occurred Wednesday morning, a day after cracks appeared in the structure. It has stirred outrage in Bangladesh over lax safety standards in the country's key industry.

The cracks led the bank to order its employees not to report for work Wednesday, and the shops in the mall were closed because of a strike. But garment factory workers were told to report to work despite their concerns that the building's structure was not sound

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association announced Friday that all garment factories would be shut over the weekend "for treatment of victims of the Savar building collapse and completion of the rescue operation successfully."